Victim stabbed to death as she was on phone to force Woman rang three times to report threat before attack that killed her and mother
ADAUGHTER fatally stabbed along with her mother was on the phone to police as their attacker struck.
Syrian-born Raneem Oudeh and mother Khaola Saleem had called police a number of times in the hours before her death, alleging she had been threatened by her ex-husband.
Raneem, aged 22, and 49-year-old Khaola were knifed in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday outside Khaola’s home on quiet residential street in Solihull.
The killer, who is still at large, is believed to have stabbed Miss Oudeh first before attacking her mother, who has five other children.
Raneem collapsed to the ground and attempted to get up again. The attacker then fled in a vehicle, believed to be a van.
Police arrived at the scene in Northdown Road shortly after 12.30am, but nothing could be done to save the women.
Miss Oudeh called for help from the police to allege she had been threatened by her ex, Janbaz Tarin, but sources previously claimed call handlers assigned the case to a ‘diary car’.
This meant the force did not immediately send an officer out to see the Syrian-born victim.
It is understood Raneem first rang on Sunday while she was at work and said she had been threatened.
She then rang again before she left work for the day to say she had heard nothing back.
She called for the third time once she arrived home. The attacker struck shortly after midnight.
West Midlands Police said in a statement : “There were a number of calls from Miss Oudeh to police on Sunday evening and we tried to physically locate her but were unsuccessful. Contact was being made to arrange to see Miss Oudeh and it was during this conversation that the situation quickly escalated and the call handler immediately dispatched officers to the location in Northdown Road where they arrived within minutes.”
Police also revealed they believe they have recovered the murder weapon. The case has been referred to the watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, because of the contact with the family before the double killing.
It is understood that Raneem and the suspect were married under lslamic law. The 21-yearold shopkeeper, an Afghan national, remained at large as the Post went to press.
Officers have searched several addresses in Birmingham which are linked to Tarin. They have seized computer equipment and mobile phones for analysis.
Both mother and daughter were mature students at Solihull College and University Centre, studying to improve their English.
The college paid tribute to the two former students from their English for Speakers of Other Languages department (ESOL).
Ms Saleem studied part-time while working and raising her family, they revealed.
They added that Raneem was “caring”, “hardworking” and will be greatly missed.
Detective Insp Caroline Corfield, who is leading the investigation, said the force had received dozens of calls from members of the public providing information and potential sightings. She also warned that anyone harbouring the murder suspect faces being jailed and there is now a £5,000 reward for his arrest.
DI Corfield said: “This is a shocking, tragic case in which a young mum, who has a twoyear-old son, and her mother have both been murdered in cold blood. We need to trace the man responsible... he deserves no protection and anyone who may be shielding him through a sense of misguided loyalty needs to know they are committing an offence and will be prosecuted unless they come forward.”